Auspicious Beginning
by Twisha
Summary: Just a random moment with Pinako acting like a grandma to baby Ed and Winry. My very first fanfic ever. I'm begging for reviews shamelessly I might add. Please be gentle!
1. Chapter 1

OK, I just finished a new edit on this so I wanted to see what you guys thought. It's my first fic, so concrit is appreciated. Specifically I'm looking for help with word flow and sentence structure. My first effort felt a bit jerky and awkward in places. I think I've made some improvements in that area but I'm not sure. Hope you like! 

Name: Auspicious Beginning  
Pairing: EdXWinry (well, as much of a pairing as is possible at less than a month old)  
Rating: K (pure undiluted fluff)  
Timeline: Pre-series  
Summary: Just a short scene told from Pinako's POV as she cares for babies Ed and Winry.

Ok, this is my very first fan-fic so please take the time to review (even if it's just a one liner). I fixed it up a bit so I hope it makes it better. I think it's nice, WAF, but nice. I hope it's not too wordy. Enjoy!

Oh yeah, I don't own FMA.

**Auspicious Beginning**

Pinako stifled a groan as she plucked her newborn granddaughter out of the crib. "_Must be getting old_" she thought, shaking her head ruefully. Slowly she made her way across the tiny nursery. The worn oaken rocking chair gave up a squeak of protest as she made herself comfortable. Cradling the child with the practiced ease only a mother possessed, she snagged the freshly prepared bottle from the homey end table.

"Time for breakfast little one," she said with a smile.

It took some coaxing to get the girl to accept the nipple. She was used to her mother and had no qualms about letting Pinako know that she considered the offered formula to be woefully substandard. The baby's recalcitrance elicited a hearty laugh from the old woman.

"Stubborn are we?" she said softly. "Not surprising I suppose, all things considered. Well my girl if you think you're going to wear me down you're about to be sorely disappointed. You may have the talent, but I've got the experience!"

True to her word Pinako prevailed in the end. The baby finally accepted the warm bottle, albeit grudgingly. Before very long she was suckling so contentedly that if Pinako hadn't known better she would have thought the girl has asked for the formula specifically. Another delighted cackle escaped Pinako's lips. "_Why am I not surprised_", she thought. Distracted by her granddaughter's antics, she failed to notice how close the back of the chair came to a second crib. With a sharp crack the two connected, sending a jolt shuttering through the chair and causing the crib to scrape about an inch across the floor. A high-pitched wail broke out, shattering the quiet peace of the moment. Obviously the other occupant of the room had decided to make his displeasure known.

Swiftly returning her charge to the soft embrace of pink flannel sheets, she rushed to the other crib in an effort to forestall the inevitable. Gathering the screaming child in her arms she began the arduous task of consoling the affronted infant. It took quite a few passes back and forth across the floor to get him to calm down. Winry on the other hand, seemed to adopt an expression of disgust as she endured the awful racket. The tiny boy in Pinako's arms gave one last hiccup before finally ending his energetic display. Grabbing a tissue Pinako carefully mopped at his face, removing all evidence of his outburst. After smoothing a halo of blond fuzz away from his forehead, she watched as a small fist latched onto her pinky. The baby's fingers, no thicker than common toothpicks, grasped hers with surprising strength. Pinanko smiled.

Once again she was struck by how incredibly tiny Lucius's1; "_no" _she corrected herself ,_"he's dropped the honorific hasn't he? Just goes by Hohenheim now"_, son really was. It was difficult to believe that this boy had come into this world a full three weeks before her precious granddaughter. He had yet to match her in size or in weight. Pinako shook her head in amazement. If his father was to be believed, the child had been born almost two months early. In that light, it was truly impressive that he was alive at all. That he was as healthy as he was was nothing short of miraculous. This kid was a fighter, no doubt about it.

"You know what Ed?" she asked, somewhat conspiringly. "One day you might just give my granddaughter a run for her money!"

Pinako was rewarded with a snort of derision from Winry.

"And vice versa." she conceded.

Laughter bubbled up unasked for, and Pinako let it lift her heart.

"Good morning to you too, angels, I think it's going to be a beautiful day".

-Finally, an explanation for Ed's stature that doesn't involve automail!

1 The Latin word for "light" is "lux". When it's declined to "lucis", it means "of light". Since Hohenheim is often referred to as "Hohenheim of Light", I figured that it would not be beyond the realm of possibility that he might have used a more classical form at one point. Pinako being an old drinking buddy of his gave me the idea. I changed the spelling to "Lucius" to make it sound more like a name than a title. I'm not sure if I got the punctuation correct though.


	2. Chapter 2

Hi everybody,

I am in desperate need of a Beta reader. If anyone is interested (or if you happen to be bored and want to say hi) PLEASE leave a message on the _reviews_ page. Any help would be greatly appreciated.

I have made some edits to this story since I posted it. I'm pretty happy with it now.

Sorry about not adding a chapter though. To partially make up for it, I will give you a bit more info about the story.

A couple of friends of mine were born dangerously premature. Neither of them weighed more than a pound at birth. Both of them had extensive, invasive surgery just so they had a chance to survive outside the womb. They were in the Neonatal ICU for weeks. One of them even had a twin sister who didn't make it. Both of them ended up very short. I figured that there was no reason it couldn't have happened to Ed too. Then I wondered, if Ed really had been that premature, would Amestarian medicine be enough to save his life? If that had been the case, what kind of measures would his father have been willing to resort to to keep him alive? Did he still have any pieces of philosopher's stone? We know Hohenheim was willing to sacrifice human life to obtain a philosopher's stone. He may have decided to stop trying to be immortal, but could he bear to stand idly by as his son fought for his life? What kind of effect might that have had on poor 'widdle Ed, or on his mom for that matter? rubs hands together and cackles evilly.

I also figured that Ed and Winry would probably have been very fussy babies. A sense of independence like that would show itself very early (imho). Plus I think they belong together. She throws wrenches at him for cryin' out loud! If that's not classic anime love I don't know what is.

Anyway, reviews are always appreciated and I hope to hear from some of you soon!

Thanks to everybody for reading,

-Trish

P.S. you guys (and gals) rock!


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